The Untold Story of Annabeth Chase

Chapter 19

In what felt like no time at all, the summer session ended. Luke and I both received a letter telling us we could either go back to our families or stay year-round at camp. We met to discuss it, but there wasn't much of a decision to make. There was nowhere else to go. We went to visit Thalia and tell her we were staying here all year.

After we talked to her, I asked if we could pick more flowers, because they would all die in the fall. We made Thalia another bouquet and lay it on her roots. We stood together, hugging, and I cried for the first time in weeks. Luke stroked my hair and told me it would be okay. I wondered if anything would ever be okay again with Thalia dead.

After dinner, we played one final game of Capture the Flag. It was Athena, Hermes and Hephaestus versus Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, and all the other cabins. The other team had a few more campers, but we had the children of Hephaestus, who were all strong and mean-looking. They also had the best weaponry, because they made it all themselves. Our team was made up of thieves and strategists, and the occasional muscular blacksmith. We knew we could win this.

We placed our flag on top of a bush, and a Hermes camper was chosen to guard. Skye and Isaac were our main strategists, but they kept disagreeing on what we should do. Isaac wanted to just charge the enemy and see what happened, and Skye thought we needed a real strategy. After ten minutes of Isaac yelling that direct assaults are a real strategy, he was outvoted and he went to sulk in the corner.

Luke, two Hephaestus campers, and a Hermes camper were selected as defense. Isaac, four Hermes, and three Hephaestus were on border patrol. A few campers were sent to distract the other team while Skye and an undetermined boy went for the flag. Everyone else was scattered through the woods to keep an eye on the defenses and fight off any stray enemies. I was positioned directly behind the flag, where I knew no one would ever come because it would be a big and pointless detour. I thought maybe I had been positioned here because I was the youngest and the newest.

The conch horn blew and I watched our decoys run off, hooting and hollering battle cries. I leaned against a tree and lazily watched for enemies. I heard battle cries and clashing swords in the distance and sighed, wishing I could join in on the fun.

Suddenly I heard a rustle in the trees behind me. I stood up, thinking it was just a deer or stray monster, when an Apollo camper appeared in front of me. I recognized him as one of our archery instructors. I knew he was a good runner; he must have been sent to run behind and get the flag without anyone seeing him. When he saw me, instead of being surprised like I'd thought, he only looked relieved that it was me on guard. He tried to run around me, but I dashed forward and blocked him. I slashed at him with my knife, and he dodged. He seemed hesitant to shoot me; probably because I was so young and we were in close range, so he drew a knife instead. He tried to disarm me, but I had been taking lessons from Luke and I was ready. I dodged his strikes and sliced a gash in his knife arm, and he cried out and switched to his other hand. He hadn't been very experienced with a knife in the first place, and he was clearly unprepared to fight with his left. I took him down easily and pinned him to the ground. He was so big I had to sit on him to keep him down, but I didn't think he would be fighting back anytime soon.

I heard cheering through the trees and the conch blew again. I peeked through the trees and saw Skye emerge holding the flag. She jumped across the creek and back into friendly territory, and our teammates crowded around her. I stood and ran with the Apollo boy to greet my team. As we approached, Aaron from Ares saw us and demanded to know what happened. The boy ducked his head in shame. "I would have gotten the flag if she hadn't stopped me," he admitted miserably.

"Are you kidding me?" Aaron yelled. "You were beat by a seven-year-old girl?"

"Eight, actually," I corrected, smirking.

Some of the Hephaestus and Hermes kids laughed, and Luke ran up to me and bent down to give me a hug. "There's that brave girl from the Cyclops lair," he pulled back, grinning and clapping me on the shoulder.

Distantly, I heard the Apollo campers scolding their brother, and his protests of, "I couldn't shoot her! She's just a little girl!"

"Oh, who cares?" One of his sisters cried angrily. "She still embarrassed us!"

I knew they would probably hold a grudge against me for a long time, but right then I didn't care. My teammates were cheering as one of the Hephaestus campers hoisted Skye onto his shoulders. Skye was grinning and waving the flag in the air, which had been magically changed to display a silver design with an owl standing proudly in the center.

I laughed as Luke lifted me on his shoulders as well and our team clapped in appreciation. Skye reached across the crowd to give me a high five, beaming proudly. She may have gotten the flag, but I was just as much of a hero today.

At the campfire, Luke and I were both given leather necklaces to hold our camp beads. I smiled proudly when Grover handed me mine, then turned my attention to Chiron as he stood in front of the fire. "It has been quite an eventful summer, so choosing a design for this year's bead was a challenge. But the Aphrodite cabin finally decided that the display on this year's camp bead should be a tribute to a selfless sacrifice. The sacrifice of the first known daughter of Zeus to serve this camp for over fifty years; bringing us two more valued campers and a wall of protection that will keep our borders safe for years to come. Thalia Grace will not be forgotten. This bead will forever remind us of all she sacrificed to save this camp, and her friends." He gestured to Luke, Grover and I. We had all been holding back tears the whole time, but they finally spilled over when Silena Beauregard handed us each a silver bead with a tall, majestic pine tree painted proudly on the lacquered wood.